Apparatus for centering and rotatably supporting cylindrical objects for honing and the like



April 2, 1963 T H. SLOAN 3,083,507

APPARATUS FOR CENTEkING AND ROTATABLY SUPPORTING CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS FOR HONING AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 4, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Y i 4 BY MAW Ei/g-J T. H. SLOAN 3,

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 2, 1963 APPARATUS FOR CENTERING AND ROTATABLY SUPPORTI CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS FOR HONING AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 4, 1959 IN V EN TOR.

T. H. SLOAN TERING April 2, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 APPARATUS FOR CEN AND ROTATABLY SUPPORTI CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS FOR HONING AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 4, 1959 INVENTOR. V z AK; 3.6. BY 7/2684,

IZi/g. ZO

Apnl 2, 1963 -r. H. SLOAN 3,0 0

APPARATUS FOR CENTERING AND ROTATABLY SUPPORTING CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS FOR HONING AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 4, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 -i t t INVEN TOR.

g YMW M 51.

BY 10W Unite This invention relates to new and useful improvements in honing machines and the present application is a continuation-in-part of my former application serially num bered 759,798 filed September 8, 1958 that has matured as Patent No. 2,938,308 granted May 31, 196%).

In the afore-mentioned application, I have disclosed a chucking mechanism for holding the article to be honed, such as the cups of roller bearings, and a honing head on which is mounted a shuttle arm with an extension for a honing shoe, the honing head including mounting and feeding means for a roll or strip of abrasive material, the abrasive surface of which contacts the work below the honing shoe.

In accordance with the present invention, a novel form of feed mechanism for feeding and holding the work to be honed is provided as well as means for revolving the work at speeds suitable for honing and an improved form of honing head with a shuttle arm is provided which is adapted to give more substantial support to the honing shoe and adapt it for use over a wide range of cup sizes with greater pressure.

Another novel feature of the invention is the mounting of the honing head on a base that is supported in a manner to be bodily movable in the direction of the work support and to interlock with the feed mechanism while the work is being subjected to the honing action.

Another object of the present invention is the simple arrangement of the working parts together with safety means that prevent jamming of the feed mechanism and that permit easy adjustment, as will hereinafter appear.

The invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the accompanying drawings constituting a part hereof in which like reference characters designate like parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical section, partially in elevation, taken longitudinally of a tape honing apparatus embodying the principles of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view partially in section of a portion of the feed mechanism taken along the line 22, FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view of a portion of the work support and feed mechanism taken along the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a section, partially in elevation, of a counterweight and cable guide taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5, a cross section, partially in elevation, of a counterweight cable guide taken along the line 55, FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6, an end elevation of the machine of FIG- URE I viewed from the righthand side of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7, a, vertical section, partially in elevation, taken along the line 7-7 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8, a vertical section, partially in side elevation, of the honing head and the honing tape mounting and feed mechanism;

FIGURE 9 is a bottom plan view of the shuttle arm and shuttle bar taken along the line 9-9 of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10, a cross section through the honing shoe taken along the line -49 of FIG. 8 showing the shuttle arm slide in elevation;

rates atent ice FIGURE 11, a vertical section taken tra v y of the honing head along the line 11-l1, FIGURE 8 of the drawing; and,

FIGURE 12 is a cross section of a portion of the tape honing feed mechanism taken along the line 12-12 of FIGURE 8.

With reference to FIGURE 1 of the drawing, the numeral 1 designates uprights for supporting a table 2 on which is mounted a honing head base 3, the latter being supported on a pair of parallel links 4 and 5 that are pivotally mounted at 6 and 7 to a bracket on the underside of the table 2. The base 3 is biased to move in a lcfthand direction by a counterweight 8 mounted on rod 9 connected at 10 to a bell crank lever 11, one arm 12 of which abuts an adjustable screw stop 13. Link 4- is actuated by a lever 14 having a follower 15 that rides a cam 16, the latter being mounted on a cam shaft 17. The follower 15 also rides the cam surface generally designated by the numeral 18, which has rises 19, 20, 21 and 22, the function of which will be hereinafter explained. Mounted on a depending bracket 23 attached to the lower side of the table 2 is a counterweight 24 pivoted at 25 and provided with a cam follower 26, FIGURE 4, that rides the cam 27, the member 24 being of substantial weight and connected by a cable 23 at 29 that rides in a groove 30 on the end of the counterweight 24, and passes over a sheave wheel 31 and down over a guide wheel 32, FIGURE 5, to a counterweight 33, as shown.

A. pillow block bearing 34 is secured to the table 2 by bolts 35 for journaling a shaft 36 that is mounted in ball bearings 37 and 38. One end of the shaft 36 carries what may be termed a turret plate 39, which is more clearly shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawing, having notches 40 for receiving a locking wedge 41 attached to the movable base 3 at 42, as shown in FIGURE 1, the wedge element engaging the slots 40 to hold the turret plate in fixed position during the honing operation, as is shown in FIGURE 3. Extending through the center of the turret plate 39 is a shaft 43 for securing a bracket 44 that supports the end of three rollers 45; the roller shafts 4501 are mounted in the turret plate 39 and are journaled in ball bearings, as shown in FIGURE 1. The turret plate 39 is provided with windows 46 to provide clearance for the end of the shuttle arm and honing shoe that passes through the work to be honed, as shown in FIGURE 8.

With reference to FIGURE 3, the work which in this instance is a roller bearing cup 47, is fed to the turret plate on a chute '48, the cups sliding between a pair of the rollers 45 as the plate 39 is indexed, and a cup that has previously been supported on the rollers such as is shown in FIGURE 3 is dropped on a skid 49 down which it rolls to a receiving station. The bearing cups 4! are engaged by a drive wheel 50, FIGURE 1, which is made of a suitable friction material such as a machined or molded plastic material and it may have a smooth contact surface or be grooved to assert a lateral thrust on the cup 47 in the direction to hold it against the facing material 39a of the turret plate 39. The drive Wheel '50 is mounted on a shaft 51 jornaled in anti-friction bearings 52 and 52a in a housing 53 that is mounted on an arm 54. hinged at 55 on a mounting bracket 56, as shown in FIGURE 7 of the drawing. A wheel 57 having gear teeth 58 is driven by a molded belt 5? that has teeth for engaging the teeth '58. The belt passes over a sheave 60 on motor shaft 61. The housing 53, as shown in FIGURE 1, rests on a jack screw 62 having a lock nut 63, the screw and lock nut being provided with handle portions 63a and 63b for easy turning. Adjustment of the jack screw 62 determines the position of the drive wheel 50 and the weight of the mechanism carrying wheel 3 56 determines the driving pressure on the roller cups 47. The indexing of the turret is accomplished as follows: An arm 64, FIGURE 1, carries a pin 65 on which is -mounted a pawl 66, FIGURE 2, that engages notches 67 in a disc 68 that is normally held by a pawl 69 resting against an adjustable stop 79. A spring71 attached to the arm 64 holds the pawl against the disc 63 so that upon movement of the pawl, the disc 68 will be rotated. When the cam follower 26 of the heavy counterweight 24 is cleared of the cam 27, the weight will drop and pull the cable 23 which subjects the pawl arm 64 to angular movement and drags the pawl as with it. When the pawl engages the notch 67, it will rotate the disc causing shaft 36 to revolve to turn the turret plate 39 120 clockwise, as viewed in FIGURE 3 of the drawing, causing the roller cup 47 to be dischar ed down the incline 49 and a new roller to be brought to the upper position, as shown in FIGURE 3.

Ann 64 carrying pawl 65 is restored to the position shown in FIGURE 2 by counterweight 33.

Drive wheel is always in the position to be engaged by the roller cup 47, as it is brought into place, and is always revolving at a high speed to cause the cup to spin on the supporting rollers 45. 'I'he locking of the turret plate 39 by the wedge 41 between each indexing period will be described in connection with the operation of the honing head which is shown in FIGURES 8 and 11 of the drawing.

The honing head consists of a casting '72, FIGURE 11, having a flanged base 73 for mounting on the movable base 3, FIGURE 1. A housing '74, FIGURES 8 and 11, having a cylindrical body portion '75, is mounted for angular movement in the casting 72 to which it is secured by bolts 76 that extend through slots 77 of the housing. Graduated scale 78, FIGURE 1, is provided on the movable portion of the honing head and an arrow 79 is provided on a fixed portion, so that the angular position of the housing 74 can be set accurately to conform to the angle of the face 47a of cup 47. Disposed within the housing 74 is a shuttle arm 8t) and a pilot stud 81 to keep honing head from turning. The shuttle arm is provided with a yoke 82 that is engaged by an eccentric 83, FIGURE 11. The eccentric being mounted on a shaft 84 journalled in anti-friction bearings, as shown, and which is provided with a flywheel 8'5 to smooth out the oscillating motion of the shuttle arm 8h when acted upon by the eccentric drive member 83. A sheave wheel 86 and a belt 37 are driven by motor 88, FIGURE 11, at a predetermined speed. It will be noted in FIGURE 8, that the shuttle arm 89 and the balancing arm 81 are provided with oil seals 89 and the chamber within which the yoke element operates is partially or wholly filled with oil. Oil ducts for lubricating the bearings being shown in dotted lines.

Mounted on the end of the shuttle arms Sit and 81 is a slide 99 in which is mounted a bracket 91 that is adjustable by a screw 92 to any desired vertical position within the limits of the slide. Bracket 91 carries a honing shoe 93 which is self-aligning, the shoe consisting of a rectangular shaped body, as shown in FIGURE 9,

having serrations running parallel with the direction of travel of the honing tape, as will be hereafter explained. A block 94 that carries the honing shoe is mounted by bolts 95 on the bracket 91 which consists of a pair of spaced arms 96 and 97 secured by bolts that carry rollers 98, 99 and 100.

i The parallel strands of tape between rollers 99 and 107 and rollers and 1 11 prevent tension on the tape as it moves back and forth with the shuttle arm movements.

The mounting and feeding of the honing tape will now be described, the same being in the main shown in FIG- URE 8 of the drawing. The honing tape or strip designated by the reference character 16H is supplied in roll form smooth on one side and having the abrasive material on the other. Such a roll is shown at 102 on a supply .1 reel 163 that is journaled to revolve on a shaft 104 mounted on a plate 165 that is attached to the honing head housing 74, FIGURE ll, and moves with it. A windup reel 1% is mounted on the plate 1%, FIGURE 12, to rewind the honing tape after it has been exposed to the honing operation.

The tape 191, as shown FIGURE 8, passes over a guide wheel 107 on which it is held by tension of a roller 10$ carried by a lever 189 that is biased by a spring 110. It then passes downwardly beneath the roller 99 around the roller 93 and underneath the honing shoe 93 from which it passes underneath the roller upward parallel to the downward strand between rollers 197 and 99 to a guide wheel 111. From thence it passes horizontally to the feed mechanism which is shown in detail in FIGURE 12 of the drawing in which the numeral 112 designates a shaft journaled in a hearing 113 mounted in plate 1495. A feed roller consisting of a knurled wheel 114 receives the tape 101 which is pressed against the knurled face of wheel 114 by a roller 115 carried by link 116. It is biased by a spring 117 in the direction of the tape. Shaft 112 is driven by a gear wheel 118 that engages a rack 119, FIGURE 8, that is mounted on a sleeve 120 vertically adjustable on an upright 121 to which it is fastened by a set screw 122. The rack 119 is pivoted at 123 on sleeve 120 and is normally biased by a coil spring 124 to cause the rack to bear down on the gear wheel 118. A pawl and ratchet mechanism consisting of the wheel 125 having teeth that are engaged by the pawls 12d moves the feed wheel 116 in the direction to advance the tape to the gathering reel 1% step by step as the tape is drawn underneath the honing shoe. A garter spring 127 passes around sheave wheels 12S and 129 to cause the reel 106 to revolve as the tape is being fed by the feed reel 114. Guide fingers 139 and 131 maintain alignment of the tape with the feed Wheel and windup reel and a rubber stop 132 engages the ratchet wheel 125 to maintain tension on the tape during the time pawls 26 are resetting.

With reference to FIGURE 7 of the drawing, the cams 16 and 27 mounted on cam shaft 17 are driven by a motor 133 that drives a planetary gear reducing system 134 to operate the cam shaft 17 at a reduced speed.

Attention is directed FIGURES 8, 9 and 10 of the drawings which show that the honing shoe 93 has a pin 93a by which it is mounted in the block 94 and that the back of the honing shoe has a rubber liner 93b to make the shoe self-aligning with the surface to be honed. The serrations on the face of the honing shoe aid to maintain the honing tape in alignment with its guide rollers and in proper relation to the surface being honed. The serrated face of the honing shoe is curved as shown in FIGURE 10, to insure contact of the full width of the tape with the surface being honed. The operation of the above-described mechanism is briefly as follows:

With the chamber of the honing head filled with oil supplied through the line 135, the motor 88 is energized to actuate eccentric 83 that causes the shuttle yoke 82 to be oscillated, which subjects the slide 90 and the horn ing shoe bracket 91 to oscillatory movement. The short 'pilot stud shaft 81 oscillates with the head or slide 9% and prevents the head from turning, thereby keeping proper alignment of the honing shoe with the work. The honing head, which in FIGURE 8 is shown as set at 10",

is adjusted to angularity of the bearing surface of the roller bearing cup 47, as shown in FIGURE 8.

the cups mounted on the supporting rollers 45, as shown in FIGURE 3 and the Wedge 41 in the slot 40 of the turret plate 39, the blank or work is ready to be honed. The counter-weight has moved the honing shoe to the position shown in FIGURE 8 and the shuttle arm oscil lates back and forth while the drive wheel 50 revolves the cup 47 at high speed. As the cam roller 15 leaves the cam 16 and hits the risers 19, 21B, 21 and 22 of cam 18, contact of the abrasive tape with the bearing surface of the cup 47 is momentarily broken. This enables the flushing fluid such as a kerosene compound to flush out the accumulated grit and cuttings from the abrasive material to produce the desired honing finish. The abrasive material wears smooth and will provide a highly polished surface or a mat finish as desired on the surface being honed and when the cam follower 15 again strikes cam 16, the base 3 will be moved to the right to retract the honing shoe and at the same time the wedge 41 will be retracted from the slot 40 of the turret plate. Counterweight 24 will then drop and index the turret plate to discharge the cup 47 and receive a new cup for honing between a pair of the supporting rollers 45 and when the wedge 41 has re-entered the slot 40, the counterweight 24 is restored to its elevated position by the counterweight 33 and he follower 26 will again ride on the cam 27 during the honing cycle.

It is evident from the foregoing description of this invention that tape honing machines employing the turret type of support and external drive for the work to be honed provide an extremely acurate method of mounting the work which, of course, may also be employed in grinding the objects before they are honed so that no errors are imparted by any clamping or chucking means that are in conventional use. Also, the control of the movement of the honing head base and the indexing or feeding of the work by counterweights and cam mechanism assures precision timing and safety in that all parts are free to give in the event a work piece or other part becomes caught in the operating mechanism, as for example, the feeder.

Although one embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the details of construction without departing from the principles herein set forth.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for centering and revolving roller bearing cups and the like in alignment with an abrading tool, a turret plate mounted on the end of an inclined shaft journaled in a bearing block, a stud shaft extending axially from the center of said plate, a bracket secured at its center to said stud shaft, a plurality of stud shafts secured in angularly spaced relation to said turret plate and to said bracket concentric with said first-named stud shaft, rollers mounted to be freely rotatable on said angular spaced shafts, the spacing between said rollers being such as to support the roller bearing cups on a pair of said rollers, said turret plate having indexing means including cam mechanism to move said cups in alignment with the abrading tool and having means to lock the same when the cups are aligned with the tool, a drive wheel for the bearing cups engaging the outer periphery of said cups to press the same against a pair of the rollers on which the cup is supported and to rest against the face of the turret plate, said abrading tool being mounted on a movable base in alignment with the turret plate, said turret plate and base being movable relative to each other by means of counter-weighted cam mechanism whereby said turret plate is subject to angular movement intermittently and the base is subjected to movement to and away from said turret plate, said base being mounted on parallel links with levers and stops operated by said cam mechanism to subject the base to straight line movement to and away from said turret plate and said turret plate having a pawl and ratchet mechanism operated by a cam actuated weight, said cam mechanisms being coordinated to maintain cyclic movement of said turret plate and abrading tool base.

2. In apparatus for centering and revolving roller bearing cups and the like in alignment with an abrading tool, a turret plate mounted on the end of an inclined shaft journaled in a bearing block, a stud shaft extending axially from the center of said plate, a bracket secured at its center to said stud shaft, a plurality of stud shafts secured in angularly spaced relation to said turret plate and to said bracket concentric with said first-named stud shaft, rollers mounted to be freely rotatable on said angular spaced shafts, the spacing between said rollers being such as to support the roller bearing cups on a pair of said rollers, said turret plate having indexing means including cam mechanism to move said cups in alignment with the abrading tool and having means to lock the same when the cups are aligned with the tool, a drive wheel for the bearing cups engaging the outer periphery of said cups to press the same against a pair of the rollers on which the cup is supported and to rest against the face of the turret plate.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which the means for rotating the turret plate consists of a pawl and ratchet mechanism and a plurality of counterweights and cam mechanism for actuating one of said counterweights intermittently, said last-named counterweight being pivotally supported and having a follower engaging said cam.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which the means for locking the turret plate consists of slots provided in the periphery of said plate spaced to correspond to the spacing of the rollers carried by said plate and a lug mounted to move into and out of engagement with said slots in response to rotation of the cam mechanism for actuating the turret plate in its indexing movements.

15. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which the wheel for engaging the outer periphery of the work to press the same against the supporting rollers and cause it to rotate has a tapered face, the degree of taper being substantially the same as the inclination of the turret plate shaft.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which the abrading tool is mounted on a movable base in alignment with the rotatable turret plate, said turret plate and said base being movable relative to each other by means of counterweighted cam mechanism whereby said turret plate is subject to angular movement intermittently and the base is subjected to movement to and away from said turret plate, said plate and base having interacting means for locking the same when the abrading tool is acting upon the cups supported on said turret plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 766,783 Watson Aug. 2, 1904 1,389,325 Thacher Aug. 30', 1921 1,974,696 Swanson Sept. 25, 1934 2,206,842 Indge July 2, 1940 2,272,055 Carlson Feb. 3, 1942 2,382,892 McGuiness Aug. 14, 1945 2,646,652 Blood July '28, 1953 2,989,824 Gilman June 27, 1961 

1. IN APPARATUS FOR CENTERING AND REVOLVING ROLLER BEARING CUPS AND THE LIKE IN ALIGNMENT WITH AN ABRADING TOOL, A TURRET PLATE MOUNTED ON THE END OF AN INCLINED SHAFT JOURNALED IN A BEARING BLOCK, A STUD SHAFT EXTENDING AXIALLY FROM THE CENTER OF SAID PLATE, A BRACKET SECURED AT ITS CENTER TO SAID STUD SHAFT, A PLURALITY OF STUD SHAFTS SECURED IN ANGULARLY SPACED RELATION TO SAID TURRET PLATE AND TO SAID BRACKET CONCENTRIC WITH SAID FIRST-NAMED STUD SHAFT, ROLLERS MOUNTED TO BE FREELY ROTATABLE ON SAID ANGULAR SPACED SHAFTS, THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID ROLLERS BEING SUCH AS TO SUPPORT THE ROLLER BEARING CUPS ON A PAIR OF SAID ROLLERS, SAID TURRET PLATE HAVING INDEXING MEANS INCLUDING CAM MECHANISM TO MOVE SAID CUPS IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE ABRADING TOOL AND HAVING MEANS TO LOCK THE SAME WHEN THE CUPS ARE ALIGNED WITH THE TOOL, A DRIVE WHEEL FOR THE BEARING CUPS ENGAGING THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID CUPS TO PRESS THE SAME AGAINST A PAIR OF THE ROLLERS ON WHICH THE CUP IS SUPPORTED AND TO REST AGAINST THE FACE OF THE TURRET PLATE, SAID ABRADING TOOL BEING MOUNTED ON A MOVABLE BASE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE TURRET PLATE, SAID TURRET PLATE AND BASE BEING MOVABLE RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER BY MEANS OF COUNTER-WEIGHTED CAM MECHANISM WHEREBY SAID TURRET PLATE IS SUBJECT TO ANGULAR MOVEMENT INTERMITTENTLY AND THE BASE IS SUBJECTED TO MOVEMENT TO AND AWAY FROM SAID TURRET PLATE, SAID BASE BEING MOUNTED ON PARALLEL LINKS WITH LEVERS AND STOPS OPERATED BY SAID CAM MECHANISM TO SUBJECT THE BASE TO STRAIGHT LINE MOVEMENT TO AND AWAY FROM SAID TURRET PLATE AND SAID TURRET PLATE HAVING A PAWL AND RATCHET MECHANISM OPERATED BY A CAM ACTUATED WEIGHT, SAID CAM MECHANISMS BEING COORDINATED TO MAINTAIN CYCLIC MOVEMENT OF SAID TURRET PLATE AND ABRADING TOOL BASE. 